Then there were none... mergers and acquisitions in the prep world

 The days of standalone prep schools are numbered in the UK... 

Winchester College and Pilgrims'

Radley College and Cothill

Charterhouse and Windlesham

 Who's next? I can take a wild guess. The fact is that running small schools in the UK has become increasingly challenging in the face of increased National Insurance, Teachers' Pension Scheme contributions, energy costs and general inflation. And that isn't before you think of falling rolls once VAT really kicks in. So the solution is joining forces with a larger entity.

 Prep schools feed a range of senior schools; anyone wanting a solid prep for Eton, Winchester or Harrow picked from a wide pool. These days, the pool is shrinking whilst the group of boys entering from UK state schools is increasing as parents turn away from boarding and economise. 

How does all this affect your choices? 

There are still some standalones who haven't mentioned mergers yet and some which are clearly in strong positions and may not ever merge. This doesn't mean that they won't happen though so do your homework. 

It is worth noting that the schools all say that they are NOT 'feeders'and that there is no straight through processing to senior. This is a reality in selective senior schools with junior divisions: I have had parents who fell into the trap of not realising that getting into a junior department was not a guarantee of a place in senior and had the miserable task of having to explain to their son that he wouldn't be joining his friends in Year Nine. 

However, the new mergers will bring greater linkages between senior and prep which will end up with a shared culture and joint staff so it would be a reasonable assumption to make that most of the prep students will be progressing to senior. It won't be mandatory but your child may well want to stick with the familiar. 

Will there be an advantage to choosing the prep division if I want to go to the senior school? 

Some schools (Pilgrims'/Wincoll) have always had a shared culture so transitioning from one to the other was a natural move as their styles were aligned. All prep schools have good links to seniors and a child who is suitable for Eton will be selected irrespective of where they come from (as we know from Brandon!). Think more about preparing your son or daughter in a way which will help them to thrive; success will follow.